John Tory: Evolution Only Must be Taught in Science Class – J.H. Westen and E. O’Brien

TORONTO, September 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Conservative Leader John Tory’s election promise to give public funding to faith-based schools began to unravel at the seams yesterday as he spoke about evolution in the classroom…

The John Tory Campaign made the following clarification: “1.) The Ontario curriculum does not allow for creationism (or any other religious theory) to be taught in science classes in Ontario’s public schools. 2.) Mr. Tory clearly stated that any school to be included in the proposal must teach the Ontario curriculum. 3.) Mr. Tory’s proposal would allow creationism to be discussed only as part of religious studies programming, as is now the practice in Ontario’s publicly-funded Catholic schools.”…

While it would be optional at first, Tory’s proposed solution could eventually force all schools to comply with the Ontario curriculum sections that mandate such things as acceptance of feminism and homosexuality, graphic sex education, teaching of evolution as complete fact and other problematic topics for those from religions of traditional moral, family and other core principles.

While faith based private schools in Ontario were supportive of the previous Conservative Party plan to offer tax credits to families that chose private schooling, the current plan is worrisome to some. Some private school officials see Tory’s plan as a first step to forcing all private schools to absorb the full secular curriculum and hire only government certified and indoctrinated teachers as is the case in Quebec…

Commenting on the situation, John Pacheco, political activist and former Director of Finance of a private Catholic school told LifeSiteNews.com, “Once the Catholic school system accepted money, it made it easier for secular ideology to creep into the schools. As soon as we allow the government to dictate what curriculum to use, they can withdraw funding if we don’t meet the standards.”